Before Death

Chapter 10: Alpha

I was both scared and exhilarated.  This is what I had trekked through hundred of miles of overgrown wilderness for, but now that my goal of finding a wolf pack was finally tangible, I was hesitant to make contact.

These wolves were no doubt well-fed, as they had not even consumed the tender meat of the coyote but instead seemed to have hunted the poor creature just for sport. In the autumn when elk migrated through their territory, food was plentiful and these wolves grew bored and therefore became mischevous.

This meant that, if I were to approach them, now could be an ideal time as hunger would not motivate them to view me as prey instantly. However, the pack was strong and might not take kindly to a strange new creature invading their territory. The most important thing would be not to run - that would result in me instantly being marked as prey.

It was nearing dusk so I thought it best to wait for morning. No use giving the pack the advantage with their superior night vision while I was effectively blind in the pitch black of night. I was fearful of sleeping on the ground as was my habit, but remembered the length of rope in my backpack. There was an ancient pine nearby with uncommonly low hanging branches that were rather wide and flat. I wedged my hunting knife deep into the soft core of the tree after I had peeled the tough bark off, up to the handle. My foot found purchase on the hilt of the knife and I was able to hoist myself up onto the lowest branch. To prevent myself from falling off the branch as I slept, I secured my middle to the branch with my rope.

Just in time, as it turned out, for I instantly heard the baying of a few wolves in the distance. They probably smelled me.

After waiting vigilantly to take the necessary action, whatever that might be (for I did not know what I would do), I eventually dozed off. After an undeterminable amount of time I startled, senses bristling. By this time the forest floor was only lit dimly by the moon.

About a metre below me two wolves had snuck up. They were sniffing the air and looking up at me warily. Probably a good thing that their first encounter with me occured while I was out if reach.

"Hey. It's good to see you guys there. We're going to get along just fine." I intoned calmly, my voice hoarse from disuse. This was a trick I had learned while interacting with the vicious hunting dogs that sometimes roamed the village. Your tone was much more important than what was actually said when dealing with aggresive animals.

The two wolves suddenly became skittish and reared back. They were clearly unused to human voices - their territory was deep in the forest and they had most likely never had contact with humans before.

After sniffing around as I remained still and silent, they eventually determined that I was not an immediate threat. They later wandered off and I watched them padding off into the distance.

"Good night." I whispered to the receding sihouettes of the wolves under the crecent moon.

● ● ●

Birds chirped me awake. I opened my eyes slowly, relishing the peacefulness of the tree branches swaying gently around me. Now that I had become aqquainted with the wolves from a distance, I was confident that their reaction to my scent would be mitigated by relative familiarity.

I worked briskly to untie myself from the tree branch that had served so faithfully as my bed and coiled my rope to return it to my backpack. After checking my surroundings carefully for threats, I moved to check the nearby snare that I had set.

Empty. Unfortunate... having a morsel of food to bribe some apex predators with could potentially save me from becoming a tasty morsel for them myself.

In retrospect, I should probably have waited for better circumstances in which to approach the deadly wolves. But then again, when had I ever done what I should have? I shouldered my pack and prepared to track the two wolves, hopefully right to their den. After all, no better way to befriend a pack of vicious wolves than by encroaching on their territory, right?

● ● ●

I headed purposefully up the hill in the direction that the massive pawprints led me. I cast my eyes downwards to the forest floor where where a thick layer of browning pine needles masked the sound of my footsteps. Breathing heavily as I struggled up the steep incline, I didn't notice the den until it was too late.

Almost at the peak of the hill, I was surprised to see the ground under my feet change to a relatively smooth and flat stone surface. I glanced upwards and did a double take. Right in front of me, not more than 20 paces away, was a huge overhanging rock face that cast a deep shadow into the shallow cave that it formed. What made my eyes flicker upwards for the second time, however, was not this curious natural formation, but the unmistakeable form of a single wolf crouched right in the shadow.

It's coat was white, mottled with the brown coating of earth that came with being a wild creature. I was covered in it myself. While such a gorgeous pure coat was well suited to stalking prey in the coming winter, it was a distinct disadvantage at a time when the landscape did not match the snowy white fur.

The wolf stepped forward threateningly, neck fur standing upright and teeth bared. Between its legs I could see a wrigling mass of small pups, looking very much rodent-like in their youth. This wolf must have been left behind to nurse and protect the newborn litter while the rest of the pack were out hunting. She was not at all fazed by the appearance of an unknown creature such as myself but continued to advance on me, determined to protect her helpless charges.

Now was a most unwise time to approach her - my mere presence was interpreted as an imminent threat to the pups. With hints of dissapointment gnawing at my racing heart, I slowly shuffled my feet backwards. Better not to turn my back, or else I would undoubtedly feel the sting of wolf claws digging into my sides in mere seconds.

While fixing my eyes on a point just left of the wolf, I hastened my retreat. I took a large step back and just happened to fall over the arched back of a wolf trying to sneak up on me.

We tumbled down the slope in a blur of fur, dust and pine needles. At last we came to rest at the bottom of the slope. My head was spinning but I instictively forced myself to my feet, intent on not having myself in such a vulnerable position with a wolf an arm's length away from me. It was too soon for me to do so, however, and as soon as I was upright, my legs gave way and my head smacked onto a nearby rock on the way down.

I had time for one more throught before everything went dark.

Stupid.

●  ●  ●

As I awoke, disorientated both by the fall and my head trauma, I could feel myself being tugged back up the incline in bursts. I groaned loudly but could not bring myself to open my eyes yet, for fear I might throw up instantly.

I was pulled up onto the stony ledge and, when I finally managed to prise my eyelids open, the sight that met me was far from encouraging. I was surrounded by a large semicircle, consisting of about 25 wolves. I felt a wet nose nudging against my exposed neck and stiffened but did not jerk my body away as was my instinct to do.

The wolf inspecting me was a massive specimen, one of the largest in the pack, and had a strange glimmer of intelligence in his eyes. He stepped over me as the others began to come closer as if claiming me for himself. He seemed to have a remarkable amount of influence over the other wolves.

He must have been the alpha.